Council Bars Reporters From Pay Raise Discussion
A quorum of City Council members is meeting right now in Council President Anna Verna's office -- as we told you a minute ago in this post -- but we can't tell you more about their discussion on whether to take a 5 percent cost of living salary increase guaranteed by 2003 legislation. The Council members refused to let reporters into the meeting.
A quorum of City Council members is meeting right now in Council President Anna Verna's office -- as we told you a minute ago in this post -- but we can't tell you more about their discussion on whether to take a 5 percent cost of living salary increase guaranteed by 2003 legislation. The Council members refused to let reporters into the meeting.
"The public doesn't have to know about this discussion because it's a personal decision that council members are making about their personal issues," Council Majority Leader Marian Tasco told reporters. "We consider this not to be of a legislative nature."
Attending the meeting are Verna, Tasco, Brian O'Neill, Darrell Clarke, Bill Greenlee, Bill Green, Curtis Jones Jr., Frank DiCicco and Donna Reed Miller.
The state Sunshine Act defines a public meeting as: "Any prearranged gathering of an agency which is attended or participated in by a quorum of the members of an agency held for the purpose of deliberating agency business or taking official action." With 17 members, Council reaches quorum when nine are present.
The last time this came up? Council in February barred reporters from a meeting where a quorum of members discussed the best way to hold public meetings about the city's budget.